Skip to the word

Added 9 October 2026

skate

/skeɪt/ noun

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about skate at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A runner or blade, usually of steel, with a frame shaped to fit the sole of a shoe, made to be fastened under the foot, and used for gliding on ice.
Ellipsis of ice skate.
Ellipsis of roller skate.

verb

To move along a surface (ice or ground) using skates.
To skateboard.
To use the skating technique.

adjective

Pertaining to the technique of skating.

noun

A fish of the family Rajidae in the superorder Batoidea (rays) which inhabit most seas; generally having small heads with protruding muzzles, and wide fins attached to a flat body.

Origin

Back-formation from Dutch schaats, from Middle Dutch schāetse, from Old Northern French escache (“a stilt, trestle”) (compare French échasse and English scatch), from a Germanic language, perhaps Frankish *skakkjā (“stilt”, literally “thing that moves”), related to *skakan (“to shake, swing”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word